Richard Madeley hits out at Madonna over delayed interview

Richard Madeley has criticised Madonna for making him wait “six hours” to interview her.

The ITV presenter, 67, spoke of his experience on Good Morning Britain after it was reported more fans are suing the Queen of Pop for showing up to her Celebration tour performances hours late.

Madeley recalled his fury at being forced to wait for the “Like a Prayer” singer until the early hours of the morning. He claimed the interview was not worth his time because the singer was “weird”.

Speaking to his co-host Susanna Reid, Madeley revealed his interview with Madonna “years ago” was six hours behind schedule and “didn’t start until about one in the morning”.

“I was so angry,” the presenter recalled. When Reid asked him whether the conversation with the Queen of Pop was “worth waiting for”, he responded: “No it wasn’t, actually. She was weird.”

Madeley’s remarks follow reports that more fans are suing Madonna for arriving hours late to live shows on her Celebration tour. Concertgoers in Washington DC accused the star of showing “total disrespect for her fans” by starting performances two hours late.

In a lawsuit filed in DC federal court last Friday (April 19), three fans claim the singer broke the law by arriving on stage two hours late at two performance dates at the Capital One Arena in December 2023.

Complainants accused Madonna and entertainment giant Live Nation of “false advertising” for listing the time on the ticket as 8.30pm, when the singer reportedly arrived on stage at approximately 10.40pm instead.

Lawyers for the fans wrote: “Forcing consumers to wait hours for her performance in a hot, uncomfortable arena is demonstrative of Madonna’s arrogant and total disrespect for her fans. In essence, Madonna and Live Nation are a consumer’s worst nightmare.”

They added: “This complaint is not about unhappy fans who don’t want to stay up late, but instead, reasonable, responsible people who had commitments to babysitters, work, getting their vehicles out of parking lots that closed at 12.00 midnight, and realising that public transportation would no longer be operating.”

According to the filing, when Madonna arrived on stage, she told those in attendance: “I am sorry I am late… no, I am not sorry, it’s who I am… I’m always late.”

The Independent has contacted Madonna’s representatives for comment.